Allied events

Ships not hit by U-boats

These ships below have been in our Ships Attacked databases at one time but removed after further research.
We decided to include them as a special list to give you a fuller view of the databases and also show you that we simply
did not forget to include them :)

We list the U-boat that was believed to have been responsible for the attack.

Earlier this attack of U-123 was attributed with the sinking of Alnmoor, but newer research shows that the ship sunk was Holystone. The Alnmoor was sunk by the Italian submarine Bianchi on 14 February 1941.

The tanker collided with another ship when forming convoy UGS-3 and continued, but was reported missing thereafter. The U-boat attacked an unknown tanker far north from her route, so she was probably lost by marine accident in heavy weather.

At 06.34 hours on 22 December, the ship was damaged by a torpedo from a German Ju88 aircraft (III./KG 26) in convoy KMF-5 and not by the attack of U-565 at 01.24 hours on 21 December. The U-boat apparently missed the intended target, later heard a torpedo detonation and claimed a hit that is not confirmed by Allied sources.

U-102 did not return from patrol, but it was earlier thought that this U-boat had sunk the trawler Castleton which was reported missing in the same area the U-boat operated. Newer research shows that the trawler was in fact bombed and sunk by a German Do17Z aircraft of 3./Küstenfliegergruppe 606 east of the Orkney Islands at 09.30 hours on 28 June 1940.

During the night of 25/26 Jan, 1941, U-105 sank an abandoned ship which was earlier identified as Heemskerk, but this ship had been bombed by a German Fw200 aircraft in convoy SL-61 on 20 January and was seen to sink the next day by HMS Arbutus. The description of the wreck and the date of the sinking prove that the ship finished off by U-105 was the Lurigethan.

The location of the wreck of HMS Bayonet in the South Inchkeith Channel off Leith confirms that the vessel struck a mine in a British defensive minefield and not a mine laid by U-21 as earlier thought.

HMS Kittiwake (L 30) hit a mine in the English Channel and it was thought that it was a mine laid by U-26 off Portland. In fact, the vessel was damaged by a British mine in a defensive barrage in the Strait of Dover.

HMS Kurd (FY 639) struck a mine in the English Channel and it was thought that it was a mine laid by U-218 off Lizard Head. In fact, the vessel was sunk when a mine was accidentally detonated while sweeping a British defensive mine barrage.

On 2 Nov, 1943, the submarine sailed from Port Said, Egypt to operate in the Aegean Sea and was reported missing thereafter. On 15 November, U-565 fired a Gnat at a submarine southeast of Kos and heard a detonation, but it is improbable that HMS Simoom (P 225) was in this area. She was possibly lost on 4 November of Donoussa island, Cyclades, Greece in a newly laid German minefield.

The loss of HMS Sulla (FY 1874) was sometimes attributed to an attack of U-456 on 30 March, but the target of this attack was Effingham. The M/S trawler was reported missing in a gale during the night of 24/25 March and most likely iced up and sank after capsizing.

On 31 Dec, 1944, the British destroyer HMS Zephyr was slightly damaged by an explosion west of the Pentland Firth. According to British reports this was very likely caused by a floating mine and not by a torpedo.

The ship is reported missing from convoy SC-13 and most likely lost in a storm. The U-boat missed the intended target in convoy OB-244 and reported a hit on another ship, but this is not confirmed by Allied sources.

The U-boat did not report an attack on that day. The ship in convoy TAM-80 was torpedoed by the German (Seehund) midget submarine U-5332 (Lt.
Wolter) in 51°25N/01°26E and was not repaired during the war.

Judging from the date and reported attack position, the victim of this attack must have been Stangarth. She was earlier attributed to an attack of the Italian submarine Morosini on 12 March, which sank Manaqui instead.

In the afternoon on 4 Oct, 1942, the tanker in convoy HX-209 broke in two in very bad weather in 58°57N/26°20W, parts of the wreck being scuttled by an escort the next day. The U-boat had reported an attack on a drifting tanker, but this happened a day earlier and sank the wreck of Esso Williamsburg.

The U-boat did not return from patrol, but it could not have attacked the Sea Porpoise because she was damaged by an underwater explosion several hours after U-390 had been sunk. The ship most likely struck a mine.

The U-boat did not return from patrol, but an attack on the ship on this day and the reported position is not possible. The ship had been damaged the same day in an air attack and sank in tow after an explosion, which was probably caused by a mine or a delayed bomb.

USS LST-280 was damaged by a torpedo in the English Channel during the night of 14/15 June 1944 and it was thought that she had been hit by U-621, but this U-boat actually damaged USS LST-133. German torpedo bombers flew several sorties that night and USS LST-280 was probably hit by one of them.